


Dreamers Headed for Stars

by Jemppu



Series: Months [25]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Art, Culmets - Freeform, Fanart, M/M, Tumblr, honey mushroom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23823220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jemppu/pseuds/Jemppu
Summary: Part of"Honey Mushroom"series of illustrated Culmets momentslisted here on tumblr, and of"Months"moments, taking place before the couple's ultimate Discovery mission.Stamets and Straal moving out of Deneva Station.With illustration:"Mushroom Brothers"
Relationships: Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets
Series: Months [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1082124
Kudos: 8





	Dreamers Headed for Stars

**Author's Note:**

> The series gets released quite out of order, as inspiration dictates, so I urge you to check out the [series list on tumblr](https://tinyurl.com/honeyshroom) for a better picture of the whole.

## 

## Months: Dreamers Headed for Stars

The observation room overlooking the mushroom gardens is a small and intimate space. Just a day ago it had still housed all of the years worth of accumulated stuff and memories from their time spent together with this research. Now all those seem gone, packed away in crates to travel to the stars or just simply thrown away to be forgotten.

Paul stands in their now empty office space, right where the old raggety sofa used to be.  
  


That couch had provided much needed rest for many long nights and in-between-work naps, and also worked as The spot for impromptu ‘team meetings’ and brain storming sessions between the two of them, Justin and him.

Paul peers through the observation window, that he only ever knew before to be colored in hues of green, blue and silver by the mycelium encasing it’s surface from the garden side, which - along with the constant condensation from the garden’s moisture clouding up the glass - provided a familiar, soft and Earthly lighting in their small hideaway.

That lighting is now gone, along with the moisture, the mycelium and all the rest of the room’s soul, replaced only by cold, clinical fluorescence lights, which were hardly ever turned on in the past, but which are currently drowning out all of the daylight that is free to come through from the windowed ceiling of the now empty hall opening up down below the observation window, where their garden used to be.

The space seems much bigger, than he ever saw before from beneath all the growth it housed within. But also, smaller somehow - there’s nothing in it. No substance. Nothing to capture one’s interest, feed one’s imagination or inspire.

What a truly bleak sight, Paul sighs. This used to be a homely place for him to keep look over his ‘kiddos’ while working, without disturbing them too much. But it is not a home anymore. It is but another empty warehouse in the laboratory complex. Soon to be filled with what ever other team and project the Deneva Station will deem worthy of their cutting edge research facilities. Stamets-Straal had been lucky to have the space as long as they did.

Or not lucky. Damn deserving. So damn deserving they have been picked by Starfleet as a worthy investment for Federation resources and are now headed for a mission to the far reaches of the galaxy. In spaceships of their own. Surreal.

Most of Paul’s ‘Kiddos’ may be gone, but Stella is returning home at last, and will be bringing at least some of the family with her to the stars. He will make sure of it.

Paul snaps back from his deeper realms, to more pragmatic thoughts.

 _“Head of Engineering”_? What the fuck does he know about starship engineering? A fuck all. And neither does Justin.

There will be months of heavy studying ahead to get to know the ship and it’s capabilities.

Why the fuck was there such a rush to ‘set sail’ anyway - or what ever damn term they use in the Fleet parlance. He could’ve used few more months of prior studying up on the stuff he is soon supposed to be leading a team for.

How ever will a group of trained officers be expected to take commands on starship maintenance and maneuvering from an ignorant civilian. Embarrassing for both Paul, and especially the team, who after years of Academy will now be lead by some lab rat with 'an honorary rank’.

Insulting even, to the many aiming for a similar position themselves, he’s sure.

He will learn, though. Make sure he knows the ins and outs of that damn machine, so he can fully comprehend the possibilities for the applications of their research in space travel. How to harness mushroom power for navigating a ship through space… and time? Exact nuances of the work will remain to be… discovered.

Well, there you have it, Paul thinks, recalling back to a thought he had had about the naming of the ships recently.

“There you are!” Straal’s familiar voice shouts from the observation room’s door, just in time as Paul comes back from his thoughts. “Are you done here? They are eager to lock us out already”.

“Where did the monitor go?” Paul asks gesturing towards the empty wall at the back of the room, as he turns and heads for the door, “that wasn’t Station property”.

Most of the stuff in this room hadn’t been: this had been their 'home at work’, a place to do with what they pleased. A place to think and get inspired in - away from pestering staff and from the sterile lab environments.

“Oh, I gave that to the team. To work amongst themselves, who gets to keep it”, Straal replies.

“It’s easy to see, how you always were their favorite boss”, Paul smiles.

“ _“Boss”_? Precisely, because of such a way of thinking, I guess”, Straal scoffs at Paul’s distancing mindset, “Some of them were with us on this for years. Did you ever get to know any of them?”

“Why would I? They were staff”, Paul replies, seemingly unfazed, “and soon to be replaced by another set”.

And not even of their own picking - Starfleet has seen fit to choose them their teams. Which Paul detests: he has no idea of any of his next team’s prior experience on the field of astromycology, if there is any. What does the Starfleet know of picking the best for the exact purpose of their specialized research? As little as Paul knows of their vessels.

“You will have such a lonely time on that ship, Stamets”, Straal laughs, with a hint of pity in his voice.

Oh, crap. Has Paul not told him yet? It had come as such a surprise for him too. He himself only found about it couple weeks ago upon his first 'inspection tour’ of his 'new command’ on the USS Discovery.

He will not be alone on that ship. A certain someone - who Straal had only heard of in passing, and doubtfully realized was still in the picture even - had surprised Paul with their presence and requested a transfer, just to be by Paul’s side.

Paul must have forgotten to mention this in all the preparation rush. Left it waiting for more opportune moment.

How will he now bring it up delicately with this man here, who just recently left his wife to take part in this mad expedition. Straal has chosen Paul and their research over the one the man had with Amelia. And was so happy, when Paul finally agreed to all of this, after what must have been years of repeated persuasions and threads ‘to split’.

“What?” Straal asks of Paul’s sudden empty gaze, “are the emotions finally catching up with your Vulcan brain?”

“Don’t worry”, he pats Paul on the back, “I won’t leave a brother alone up there”.

“We’ll continue our usual arguing over long distance”, Straal goes on reassuringly, “How else are we ever gonna keep our creativities flowing anyway, without constantly having to one up each other”.

“You still get to berate my ideas like always and I’ll still make sure you don’t get your reckless ass killed up there”, the man laughs.

“We’ll have just each other again”, Straal concludes with a convinced playful smile, “two unattached dreamers, now free to roam the stars as we damn well please”.

Paul responds to the smile in kind, before adopting a more solemn look, “About that, Justin…”. He feels he’s about to be a heartless bastard again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts on the work posted along with the illustration on [**tumblr**](https://jmalkki.tumblr.com/post/173796432564/mushroom-brothers-a-brief-interlude-from).
> 
> _Likes, shares, comments and what have you, all appreciated on:_  
>  _[ **tumblr**](http://jmalkki.tumblr.com/) | [**twitter**](https://twitter.com/Jemppu) | [**instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/jeminamalkki/) | [**DeviantArt**](https://www.deviantart.com/jemppu)_


End file.
